The Lost Little Girl
by meganwho
Summary: Set just after 'A Good Man Goes To War' this is an alternative take on what could have happened regarding Amy and Rory's daughter Melody, which hints at a different resolution of the Series 6 'shooting on the beach' story arc. Please leave reviews as this is my first published fic :)


Amy sat in the control room, her head buried in a blanket she had removed from the Doctors old cot. She inhaled the familiar scent of her beautiful baby girl who had been snatched from her in an unjust war. She felt a tear slide down her flushed cheek as she remembered her gorgeous daughter and the gaping hole in her heart she had left behind. Footsteps sounded behind Amy, who didn't even turn to register the intruder. Quickly after these footsteps slowed to a stop, she felt a pair of familiar arms wrap around her waist.

'We'll get her back' He whispered into her shoulder. 'I won't ever stop fighting for our little girl.'

Amy smiled into the blanket and turned to face her husband, still adorned in his Roman armour.

'She could be anywhere Rory.' She said as he took a strand of her hair and laced it between his fingers.

'I know.' Rory replied. 'But she's our baby Amy, **ours. **Do you really think I'm ever, ever going to forget about her?'

Amy looked at her husband, in the way he always wished that she would. Her eyes pouring adoration towards him.

'I love you Mr Pond.' She whispered.

'I love you too Mrs Williams.' Rory replied.

After a comfortable moment of silence staring into each other's eyes, Amy moved her arms around her husband's neck and brought her lips down onto his, in a passionate loving embrace. Once she moved away she rested her forehead onto Rory's.

'We're going to get her back. Aren't we?' Amy asked desperately.

'Yes. Yes we are.' Came the unexpected reply from behind her. Amy turned recognising the voice to see her raggedy doctor standing before her; arms open wide as if waiting for her to embrace him. Except to Amy, he wasn't the raggedy doctor any more. He wasn't the same imaginary friend she waited all those years for. She loved the man unconditionally there was no denying that; he was her family, the one person that found her when she had nobody else. But right now she couldn't show affection towards him and she didn't know why. Something about him had changed, had made today a day in which she didn't want to see him. She stood, turned and left the control room, leaving the doctor to play down his open arms by scratching his chin, his face a reflection of his inevitable broken interior. He noticed Rory stare after his wife and then turn to look at him. He flashed Rory a weak smile.

'It's not your fault.' Rory spoke softly. 'I know that, and she knows that. It's just all a bit raw at the moment.' The Doctor smiled gratefully at the centurion, before sinking into the chair behind him.

'But it is my fault.' The Doctor mumbled. 'Had Amy not been travelling with me, nobody would have taken her child. It's as simple as that.'

'Hey! You could **never **have predicted this.' ' Rory replied more forcefully. 'And as for Amy travelling with you' he paused 'she made her mind up about that a long time ago, and we both know you were in no position to argue.' Rory smiled at his wife's feisty character. 'And even if you did argue, she would have won.'

The Doctor looked up from the floor, to again smile weakly at the boy in front of him. _The boy who waited. _ He didn't deserve any of this. What was his crime? He fell in love. He fell in love with beautiful, feisty, exciting Amelia Pond, and made it his life's work to protect her. Melody's abduction was hurting him more than anybody else. Not only did he miss his daughter so badly it felt like she had taken a piece of his heart, but Amy was also suffering, and there was nothing he could do to protect her from that.

'I'm just going to go and check on Amy' Rory said, breaking the silence from which he and the Doctor had been sat in. Just as he turned to leave the Doctor spoke:

'I will not rest until she's safe Rory.' He said defiance clear in his tone. 'Just remember that.'

Rory chuckled weakly. 'The oncoming storm on our side eh? What could possibly go wrong?'

'I mean it.' The Doctor said a little quieter. 'It is now my purpose in life to find your daughter and ensure that she is safe.'

Rory left the control room in search of his distraught wife leaving the Doctor sat alone to think about the unimaginable pain Amy must be feeling. He could only relate the pain to the loss of his people and his planet: Gallifrey. Even the name of that place formed a tight knot in the pit of his stomach and he felt tears prick in his eyes. He stood quickly from the chair wiped his eyes and began fiddling with levers in the centre of the room.

'What would you do? Eh?' He asked the room that surrounded him. 'Oh I wish you could talk.' He said hitting a part of the TARDIS, trying to find a sufficient outlet for his rage. 'You always take me where I need to go, so why can't you take me there now?'

The Doctor collapsed on the floor, and cuddled his knees like a small scared child. This time he didn't even attempt to stop the tears from flowing. As they trailed down his cheeks, he closed his eyes. Desperately searching for the answers that would help him track down the missing child. But as hard as he tried to concentrate, he just couldn't ignore the fact that Amy had lost faith in him. She no longer saw him as family, or a support system merely a troublemaking inconvenience that had cost her a real family, a real support system.

'I believe you, you know.' Came that familiar accent from behind him. 'I trust you when you say you will find her.'

The Doctors head shot up from his knees and Amy saw for the first time how truly vulnerable the Doctor was. He wasn't some untouchable warrior from a far off planet. He was a man, with real human feelings that were just as valid as hers and as Rory's. Not only that but he was hurting too. In all of the commotion she had forgotten that he cared for that baby's safety just as much as she did.

'I'm sorry.' Amy spoke again, quieter this time.

'Don't you dare apologise.' The Doctor said standing up. 'Don't you ever apologise about this. Ever. You have every right to hate me because of this Amelia. She's your daughter and it's my fault you lost her.'

'No.' Amy replied. 'No, it isn't. I'm not going to lie to you Doctor, this is the most horrific thing that has ever happened to me and you cannot imagine the unbearable agony I feel when I remember that she's out there somewhere, scared and alone. But the only thing I know for sure is it wasn't your fault.'

Rory made his way through the corridor and stood in the doorway just in time to hear Amy's speech.

'We'll get her back.' He said attempting to comfort Amy. 'I know I keep saying it but that doesn't make it any less true.' He moved into the centre of the room to hug Amy tight. 'Melody Pond. Our little superhero Melody Pond, is going to be absolutely fine, I promise.'

Amy looked at her husband and smiled for the first time since they lost their daughter. 'But how can you be sure?' She said, allowing her face to sink again.

'Because I will die before I let anything happen to her.' The Doctor said gravely from behind her. His voice returned to normal. 'Go on, off to bed with the both of you. After what happened today you need your rest.'

Rory took Amy's hand in his own as they made their way to the bedroom. Once there, Amy sat on the bed and the tears began once again to spill from her face.

'Hey, hey. What's wrong?' Rory asked soothingly. 'Didn't you hear what the Doctor said?'

'Yes I did' Amy said, sniffing hard 'and that's what's wrong.' She sobbed. 'The Doctor said he would die before he let anything happen to Melody.'

Rory looked at her questioningly.

'Remember what we saw Rory. That day on the beach. The Doctor said he would die before he let anything happen to her.' Amy paused.

' **What if that's exactly what he does?'**


End file.
